Biomedicalization Revisited

Clarke, Adele E.; Jeske, Melanie; Mamo, and Laura; Shim, Janet K.

doi:10.1002/9781119633808.ch7

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 77 publications

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“…This has largely been in the form of ‘underground’ therapies, which Inserra (2019) notes have persisted since the 1950s. The medicalisation of psychedelics thus provides a striking example of a cultural form being co‐opted and reconceptualised in medical terms, providing a window onto the broader processes of medicalisation (Conrad, 1975; Illich, 1974; Zola, 1972), biomedicalisation (Clarke et al., 2003, 2021) and pharmaceuticalisation (Abraham, 2010).…”

Section: Medicalisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The frontiers of new psychedelic therapies: A survey of sociological themes and issues

Andrews

Wright

2022

Sociology Compass

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Psychedelic compounds are on the cusp of being approved by medical regulators for treatment-resistant mental health disorders. Following promising clinical trials, and as rates of mental ill health rise globally, psychedelic medicine presents a new paradigm for treating depression, anxiety, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. The novelty of psychedelic therapies, the cultural stigma they elicit, and the challenges of regulation and implementation urgently call for a sociological lens onto this emerging field of psychiatry. This article identifies key sociological issues related to the medicalisation of psychedelic-assisted therapies. It begins with a brief overview of the field's history and current treatment approaches. We then identify and critically examine three areas of sociological interest: the of role advocacy in the advancement of scientific research and the destigmatisation of psychedelics; issues related to the medicalisation and pharmaceuticalisation; and integration into healthcare systems. The challenges and affordances of psychedelics to existing therapeutic models, regulation and monetisation are highlighted, and the socio-political context of the pharmaceutical industry, research, investment and implementation is examined. Drawing on health science literature in this field, the article offers a sociological lens on clinical psychedelic

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